Eden
Also known by Her epithet of the Living Garden, Eden is the Goddess of Life. She has no humanoid personification, and can be seen most clearly as the manifestation of life itself. Anywhere in the universe where life exists, one will find Eden there. The faith that worships Eden, based primarily in Sanjuras, is known as Via, or “The Way”. Worship of Eden and earning Her favour may grant one an extended life; this process is solidified by a covenant formed with the goddess herself, who will then multiply one’s lifespan by a factor of ten. The covenant concludes as one reaches the end of this enhanced lifespan, at which point, Eden will ask if the person wishes to extend their life indefinitely, or if they wish to die and be brought to eternity. One might say that the first extension is a trial period, to see if one would truly like to live forever. One of the greatest mysteries of the Vian faith is why only one person has ever asked for eternity. This same person, the Saint Priestess Shimonia, has disappeared from Sanjuran society, and hidden herself away in the mountains of Iluvium, to the far southeast of the Phrath Continent beyond the Lilith Quarantine Zone, where she allegedly lives a nomadic life as a healer amongst the local nomadic (non-Barachiese) clans. Divine mystery? The world is imperfect, and an eternal life in a decaying world is only worth living if it is used as a cautionary tale, a means to teach others of this threat. As a result of this action, an offshoot of Via that teaches how one should focus not on life in this world, but eternity in the next, perfect one, has sprouted in the kingdom directly south of the Illuvium mountains. For those who care for other forms of life, such as farmers or herders, their livestock and/or crops will grow to their peak even if the nutrients they receive are not sufficient. Eden is interesting in that She has an apparent physical location – Paraiso, is considered by the Divinities to be Her ‘body’, and Mugen, where the Heart of Paraiso is kept, Her ‘heart’, the center of Her worldly manifestation. The Heart of Paraiso, the source of all life and indeed, Her very anchor in this world, is guarded by Her nephew, Gaurdew, the god of resurrection. Should this be destroyed, Eden will lose Her connection with the universe, and thus all life bound to Her will be annihilated. It is theoretically possible to replace it and establish a new anchor in the world, but it would be a replacement rather than a repair, thus it would not save all those who died. Being the reason why life exists in the first place, and the reason why life goes on, Eden can be seen as one of the most essential gods in Our Paradise. Eden represents Life. At the instruction of Agnes Tyamát, Eden created and imbued sentient mortals with Souls, as part of a mechanism to collect data on the universe through mortal eyes. She is the patron goddess of the Sanjuran Holy Empire. See also *Thanas *Gaurdew *Mugen *Heart of Paraiso Category:Gods Category:Greater Gods